Hans MeerbeekSleeping Beauty's Castle -- Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant -- at Disneyland Paris. Note how the castle seems to be jutting out from a rock formation.When Walt Disney decided in the early 1960s that a sequel to Disneyland might be in order, there was much fear and trepidation among his lieutenants that Disney’s brand of West Coast entertainment might not fly on the East Coast.

That fear, of course, proved unwarranted as Disney’s participation in the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair followed by the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida showed that Disney-style entertainment was, in fact, popular on both coasts.

Walt Disney CompanyJay Rasulo poses with Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.Fast-forward to 1992 and the opening of Euro Disneyland in Paris, France. It was assumed, given the popularity of Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the United States, that Europeans in general and the French in particular would embrace the new Disney park.

That assumption proved be to incorrect — and almost lethal — to the resort now known as Disneyland Paris.

Enter Jay Rasulo.

After several very shaky years, attendance-wise, Rasulo — then an up-and-coming Disney executive who grew up on Staten Island — was given the daunting task of reversing the park’s fortunes. And he did so, with spectacular results.

"There was never anything wrong with the product that we opened in Paris," he said recently. "It’s an absolutely beautiful park, one of the most beautiful in the world. The hotels are all very consistent with storytelling, which we embrace.

"But what we probably didn’t understand very well ... was that, whether it’s buying habits or personal tastes and preferences, Disneyland Paris is an incredibly diverse environment and very different from an American environment."

Once that realization crystalized, Rasulo formulated a game plan.

Hans MeerbeekThe Disneyland Paris railroad pulls into the station."Even though the product looked the same and the attractions had the same names translated, the way people purchased, their purchase cycles, the intermediaries they used, the advertising that was compelling to them was very different from the American model.

"And how they behaved when they came to the park — really devoting important time to meal time and wanting wine, having different preferences in the hotels — it’s something that took us a good five years to appreciate.

"And when I got there, I was really determined to reverse that and really embrace that. Instead of fighting it and trying to make it fit the American model, it was really about embracing the European business model."

A number of subtle changes were implemented. For instance, more than 2,000 patio seats were installed in outdoor areas throughout the park to allow Europeans to do something they are very accustomed to doing -- eating outdoors.

THE TURNAROUND WAS COMPLETE

With the new strategy in place, the fortunes of Disneyland Paris were quickly reversed. "Suddenly, all those bad articles started going away that were written about us," Rasulo said. In their place, rave reviews — and increased park attendance — followed.

That new Euro-centric philosophy became a template when a second park in Paris — Walt Disney Studios Park, with a movie and television theme modeled after the former Disney/MGM Studios in Florida — was in the planning stages.

"When we opened the second park (in 2002)," Rasulo said, "we made sure it wasn’t an American studio park, but it was an international studio park that both embraces European filmmaking and American filmmaking, with European stars and American stars.

"Subsequently, we became much more rooted as a form of European Disney entertainment and not as American entertainment in Europe."

Hans MeerbeekDisneyland Paris' version of the Mark Twain riverboat.That, as it turned out, was the key to making Disneyland Paris the top tourist attraction in all of Europe.

"We tried to evolve the product as we went along," Rasulo added. "We gave a lot more attention to either less language in what we put in or the ability to offer the show in multiple languages. For instance, the Studio Tram Tour is offered in six languages. We even enlisted several European stars to voice attractions.

"It was really an effort to make the visitors of Disneyland Paris to feel like this was made from them, not made for an American audience."

Next up in Goofy about Disney, Jay Rasulo discusses Walt Disney, and also talks about his involvement in the travel industry outside of Disney.